ROCKFORD, Ill. … The Eastern Conference held off a late charge to record an 18-15 win in the 2026 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday evening at the BMO Center, home of the Rockford IceHogs.
Konsta Helenius, the 19-year-old forward from the Rochester Americans, won the CCM Fastest Skater event with a time of 13.770 seconds, and AHL goal-scoring leader Arthur Kaliyev of the Belleville Senators clocked a blast at 104.0 miles per hour to win the CCM Hardest Shot title.
Leading the Western Conference, Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Jagger Firkus became just the sixth player in AHL history to go a perfect 4-for-4 in the Hard Rock Casino Rockford Accuracy Shooting event while the San Diego Gulls’ Calle Clang stopped 16 of 18 shots to earn CCM Top Goaltender honors. Abbotsford Canucks forward Ben Berard stole the show with a highlight-reel goal in the Upper Deck Breakaway Relay.
The Eastern Conference raced out to an 8-1 lead through four events, winning three of the four heats in the Inglasco Puck Control Relay and taking the Fortune Tires Rapid Fire event.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO continues on Wednesday with the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony at noon ET/11 a.m. CT, featuring the enshrinement of Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, Jim Wiemer and Wendell Young, and also celebrating honorary All-Star Classic captains Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg. The ceremony will be streamed live on AHLTV on FloHockey and FloHockey’s social platforms.
The league’s mid-season showcase wraps up Wednesday night at 8 ET/7 CT with the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge, a round-robin tournament among the league’s four divisions played at 3-on-3. Produced by the Chicago Sports Network, the All-Star Challenge will air live across the United States on NHL Network, in Canada on TSN5, and on the internet at AHLTV on FloHockey as well as FloHockey’s social platforms.